Civil War damage claims, two other Civil War books, to be offered July 19

Three books to be sold, two signed, on Old Market Day

The newly published book "Civil War Damage Claims: Chambersburg Burns, Volume 1" was compiled by Anne Hull, president of Franklin County Historical Society-Kittochtinny. (Photo courtesy Jodie Popio)

Photo courtesy Jodie Popio
Jim Wolfson, Chambersburg, will sign and sell copies of his paperback book "John Brown's Last Journey: Chambersburg to Harpers Ferry 1859" during Old Market Day July 19.

CHAMBERSBURG >> As a historian, Ann Hull is used to reading faded text on yellowed microfilm, but she doesn't feel that others with a penchant for local history should have to follow her lead.

As president of Franklin County Historical Society-Kittochtinny, Hull has long hoped to retrieve information from state archives that pertain to Chambersburg's fate in 1864 and the losses felt by families left bereft after the town was burned.

A donation from Daughters of the American Revolution, of which she is a member, was enough to get her started on a first volume (of which there may be two or three more, she promised) in a series of books compiling loss claims made to the state during the Civil War.

On July 19, Old Market Day, Hull will unveil her first volume, "Civil War Damage Claims, Chambersburg Burned" in a book signing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Old Jail, 125 E. King St., and in the historical society's booth on the square from 6 to 8:30 p.m. before the burning of Chambersburg re-enactment. Two other books — an easy-read story of John Brown and a reprint of the eyewitness account of the burning of Chambersburg — will also be available at the events.

Some of the townsfolks' unpaid damage claims will be on display at the historical society's booth and some will be auctioned by Gateway Gallery Auction as part of the evening's activities. A copy of the book will accompany each auction certificate.

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Damage claims

Financial support from DAR enabled Hull, with the help of interns, to digitize most of the microfilm reels that pertain to Civil War damage claims.

"There are 21 (reels), and this book covers six of them," said Hull. The claims were either for real estate or personal property from people who lived in Chambersburg.

Not content with a list of names and amounts of damage, Hull, a true historian, wants to uncover the stories of these folks' lives.

Julia Chain will portray Chambersburg resident Ellen Cheney McLellan, eyewitness to the 1864 burning of Chambersburg, in a living history presentation July 19, 2014, at the Old Jail, 125 E. King St., Chambersburg. (See article "Eyewitness characters at Old Jail" this page for details.) (Photo courtesy of Ann Hull)

"Two interns were pulling information off the hard drive and three library interns worked on background, census records, occupation, war records. We even tell where (the claimants) were buried."

Through this outside information, Hull was able to find background on many of the claimants named in the book.

"For instance, one of the people is a Rev. Dr. Samuel Fisher. He made a claim for real estate value and personal property. His story relates to Benjamin Carter, the Confederate who is buried at Cedar Grove." Fisher's second wife, Hull said, learned Carter was one of the seriously wounded Confederate soldiers left in New Franklin following the Battle of Gettysburg. She had him brought to a makeshift hospital in town and saw to his care until he died. Her reason for such concern is a deeper part of the story.

Most claims, Hull found, were received in 1866. The state of Pennsylvania refunded the losses, surmising the federal government would reimburses their coffers. The assumption was wrong, Hull said.

Delving into the lives of Chambersburg residents of the mid-19th century was an eye-opener for Hull.

"The thing that changed my outlook was that these people didn't have a lot of education, but they were well to do because they had a skill to offer," she said. "A lot of German immigrants were bakers or confectioners, carpenters, tinners ...

"If you were a good seamstress, you could make good money in Chambersburg; you could travel and you would live with wealthy people ... There were a number of seamstresses working in Chambersburg."

The actual items of loss are not included in the book; it would have made the book too cumbersome, Hull said. Anyone interested in individual items of loss may go to the historical society's library and read the hard drive.

The book costs $20 a copy.

John Brown's last journey

Jim Wolfson will be signing his educational paperback book "John Brown's Last Journey, Chambersburg to Harpers Ferry 1859," which first appeared in 2009 in html format on a website.

"The artwork wasn't as good, the layout was not good," Wolfson said of the online version. "We really wanted to have it in audio form with a narrator, but we never found a narrator; so I thought I would just try a book that's easy to read."

The left pages are full color photos that relate to text on the right pages. At the end of the book are questions for discussion. Wolfson plans to contact school districts that may want to use the book in classrooms, as he had done this school year with the Kids Learning After School program that involved field trips to Civil War sites.

The book is "contemporary, yet historical at the same time," he said. "So many times, guides will say that John Brown's raid was 'the match that lit the Civil War, but one of the park rangers at Harpers Ferry, where we took the kids, said that John Brown was the first civil rights activist. That put it into perspective for them."

Wolfson invites visitors to the book signings to spend time discussing the topic with him.

The book costs $15.95. Proceeds will be given to the historical society.

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